s an education officer for UNICEF. In the role, she oversees -- among other projects -- soccer and volleyball championships aimed at improving the lives of displaced children thr

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Bryce Petty was heading home to Texas a few days after the biggest game of his young NFL career to relax a little.With the New York Jets entering into their bye-week break, the second-year quarterback had his game plan prepared.Put the cowboy boots on, hang out with Mom and Dad for a little bit, so itll be good, a smiling Petty said Tuesday after the teams final practice until next week. Kind of get your mind away from things, regroup and be ready to rock and roll when we get back.What that means for Petty is still uncertain. He got his first NFL start Sunday in place of an injured Ryan Fitzpatrick in a 9-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams , going 19 of 32 for 163 yards with a touchdown. But he also tossed an interception with just under two minutes left to seal the defeat.Fitzpatrick is recovering from a sprained left knee and the time off should help the healing process. Coach Todd Bowles hasnt committed to a starter for New Yorks game against New England on Nov. 27, saying hed make that decision next Monday.Im here to play football, Petty said. Again, for me, its control what you can control. And Ive said it before and Ill say it again: To be a good teammate, I have to be a better quarterback than I was yesterday, today. That part doesnt change (despite) whatever is going on.With the Jets struggling to a 3-7 mark and their playoff prospects fading, many fans and media think Bowles should stick with Petty to see if last years fourth-round pick out of Baylor could be the quarterback of the future.Bowles, however, is sticking to his philosophy of wanting to play whoever gives the Jets the best chance to win now. If the coach decides that its Fitzpatrick, that means Petty will go back to the sideline and wait for his next opportunity.Again, those are hypotheticals, Petty said. I try not to deal with that. Control what I can control. Being anxious, the anxiety is not something that I like to feel.You carry on about your business and as soon as you hear something, then you go to bat. Other than that, you try not to think about it.Bowles gave Petty the expected mixed review on Monday, praising him for his poise, understanding his reads and throwing some nice deep balls. The coach also pointed out some hurried throws and missed reads, typical of a player making his first start.After watching the film, Petty agreed with Bowles. He got the Jets off to a nice start, including a 99-yard touchdown drive on New Yorks second possession, but the offense couldnt do much more against Los Angeles.Some good things, some bad things, he said. Again, theres always positives and then construction, I guess, put it that way. There were definitely some opportunities there to make some plays. But, overall, we moved the ball. We just have to finish drives.Quarterbacks coach Kevin Patullo said Tuesday that Petty worked hard on studying the game plan going into the matchup with the Rams and felt he was fully prepared.He did what he needed to do and today we talked about it, Patullo said. So, there is a lot to learn from it, but I think he did some good things in there.Petty injured his right shoulder in the preseason finale against Philadelphia and missed a few weeks of practice time while recovering. Patullo doesnt think that missed time stunted Pettys development in any way.He was constantly with us in the classroom, so, mentally he was always there, Patullo said. He knew the game plan. He knew what was going on with everything there.Physically, obviously, all the rehab and stuff like that, that was probably the only part that he missed and then just being in our huddle, hearing me talk to him and the play calls.But as far as classroom, he was there every day, so, he knew exactly what was going on.For now, Petty will get in some family time, but work wont be too far from his mind.Its hard to get away from it, he said. I love it. Typically, when I watch games, its implementing our plays into things and how that will work. Its hard to get away from football. Its a good thing.Game notes Defensive line coach Pepper Johnson, in one of his few media sessions of the season, opened by saying he wouldnt answer questions about the players in his unit, which has come under criticism lately with the benchings of Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson for one quarter at Miami last week. Johnson wouldnt explain why he declined to talk about his players, and the session ended abruptly. ... The Jets released T Jesse Davis from the practice squad. ... Inspirational speaker Inky Johnson was a guest of the Jets and spoke to the players before practice. Big thanks to (at)InkyJohnson for coming and talking to us today, Petty tweeted . Unreal testimony. Its a privilege to hear you speak. God Bless.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Vapormax Grossiste . - Connor McDavid scored 53 seconds into overtime as the Erie Otters came from behind to defeat the visiting Guelph Storm 4-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Vapormax 97 Noir Pas Cher . - Oakland Raiders running back Rashad Jennings was speaking to a group of local high school students earlier this week when the conversation turned to the importance of being prepared when opportunities in life arise. http://www.vapormaxpaschersoldes.fr/vente-air-vapormax-flyknit/vapormax-flyknit-utility.html . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. Nike Air Vapormax Soldes . -- Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Alrdridge were again the go-to duo for the Trail Blazers against the Kings. Vapormax 2019 Pas Cher . The recently retired Stern was elected Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined with the class of 2014 on Aug. In 2014, Olga Dolinina worked in public relations and marketing for Hockey Club Donetsk in Ukraine -- a time when great uncertainty gripped the country.?In May of that year, armed rebels burned and damaged the teams stadium. Dolinina didnt know if theyd play the next season in a different city -- or at all. Even if the team resumed operations, she wasnt sure shed feel safe moving back to Donetsk. A few weeks after the stadium attack, a shooting occurred just outside the team offices.A colleague turned up the music to drown out the sound of gunfire. Dolinina didnt know if she could safely walk or take a cab to her apartment.I was really scared, Dolinina said. That was the first time when I could see that events Id watched on television were happening so close to me. Despite her fears and the challenges in her own life, one question loomed in Dolininas mind: How could she help children affected by the crisis? Like Dolinina, many families fled from violence-stricken areas in eastern Ukraine to different parts of the country.Thousands of children are suffering, she said. And need psycho-social support and help with adaptation to their host communities. Hockey, she believed, could alleviate stress and foster understanding and resilience.Its the smallest thing that can be done for children, she said. Children shouldnt be witnesses of war. In the fall of 2014, Olga Dolinina arrived in the United States for the Global Sports Mentorship Program. When she returned to Ukraine, Dolinina launched Break The Ice.Since then, more than 1,000 young people in the country have participated in the organizations table and ice hockey programs. Its something like a common language, Dolinina said. Through sports, you feel like one team. You can accept other children and then make friendships, learn life skills and build peace in the community.***Dolinina grew up an only child in Dnipropetrovsk. From an early age, she played outside with boys. The experience taught her firsthand the equalizing and empowering effect athletic endeavors can have for girls.Dolinina earned a masters degree in sports management and worked as a sports journalist and press officer for the Football Federation of Ukraine. She didnt know much about hockey when she joined HC Donbass in 2013, but with her strong background in sports business, she quickly learned.In her year with HC Donbass, she oversaw programs that reached out to the community in general and children in particular. When she first applied for the Global Sports Mentoring Program, she thought she could use what she would learn there to expand her efforts on behalf of the club.The war changed everything. As she contemplated what was next in her own life, Dolinina realized she could harness sports as a tool to alleviate post-traumatic stress disorder and similar problems among displaced children.She was thrilled to be paired with mentor Susan Cohig, senior vice president of business affairs and integrated marketing for the National Hockey League. The match seemed ideal to Cohig, as well.Using sports to empower kids, create opportunities for them to have a safe place to go, Cohig said. All the things that she wanted to accomplish are things we do in the communities were in.Cohig and other program leaders helped Dolinina with the logistics of her program, including gathering data on the impact of PTSD, compiling evidence of the benefits of sports participation for children in conflict zones and fine-tuning messaging she could use to raise funds and build partnerships.ddddddddddddhese tactics proved critical because, with the future of HC Donbass uncertain, Dolinina couldnt count on institutional support. In fact, the team suspended operations for the 2014-2015 season, and Dolinina never returned to her job there.At first, the idea of starting a project from scratch seemed daunting.The more I researched and realized the problem could be helped and cured, the more I was inspired by the projects of other members of the program, Dolinina said. I decided, Yes, I can do this myself.***Dolinina realized the expense of ice hockey equipment might delay her efforts. While she worked to secure funding for things such as skates, helmets and pads, she also sought partners and money for less costly table hockey tournaments. With help from organizations such as the International Table Hockey Federation, she held her first two table hockey events in 2015.?Now, Break The Ice and its partners hold regular tournaments in Donetsk, Luhansk, Dnipropetrovsk and Kiev.Twelve-year-old Anna Ivantsova, who moved from Donestk to Kiev last year, even qualified for the Ukranian national table hockey team. Break The Ice provided funding for Ivantsova and her mother to travel to Estonia for the European Table Hockey Championship, a journey Dolinina feels exemplifies the opportunities the program offers children, especially girls.As the table hockey program began flourishing, Dolinina learned that a grant she had applied for from the National Hockey League Players Association came through. Now, she has two full sets of ice hockey equipment. A girls team called Ukrainochka and a boys team, Sokol, both of which consist of local and displaced children, regularly put the gear to use.Some players hope to reach professional status. Ukrainochka now participates in the Ukrainian Womens League, Dolinina said. A group of players from both teams traveled to the United States last year, making stops at NHL facilities in Washington, D.C., and New York, where Cohig works.Being in the room with all these young kids, girls and boys, was really special, Cohig said. It was Olgas work paying off, creating this opportunity to take them away from the difficulties they were experiencing to understand and benefit from what sports can do to make a difference in their lives. It was a full-circle moment.The mentoring experience has come full circle for Dolinina too. It changed my life, she said.Two months ago, she began working as an education officer for UNICEF. In the role, she oversees -- among other projects -- soccer and volleyball championships aimed at improving the lives of displaced children throughout Ukraine.As need increases -- about 1.7 million people have been displaced by the conflict, including 300,000 children -- Dolinina says theres no chance shell leave skates and pucks behind. Shell continue to look for ways to expand the impact of Break The Ice. One option: bring it under the auspices of UNICEF and leverage the organizations resources to make the ultimate power play for peace.Cindy Kuzma is a freelance health and fitness writer in Chicago, contributing editor at Runners World magazine and marathon runner. You can read more of her work at www.cindykuzma.com. ' ' '